Conjoined Twins Were Successfully Separated After A 20-Hour Surgery!

The surgery to separate these 19-month-old girls took almost an entire day — and it took doctors nearly two months to prepare!

Last week HollyBaby.com reported that a pair of conjoined twins were successfully separated — but now there’s another success story! That’s incredible odds: According to The Daily Mail, conjoined twins are between 1 in 50,000 to 1 in 100,000 births worldwide.Maria and Teresa Tapia were conjoined at the lower chest and abdomen, and they shared a liver, pancreas and a portion of the small intestine. Because their small intestines were connected, poor Maria wasn’t getting the nutrition she needed! Their doctor said they had to be separated before it got worse!

Dr. David Lanning, surgeon-in-chief at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, led the very risky surgeries. He and his team took a whole 20-hours to work on Maria and 18.5 hours on Teresa! “Everything just went so smoothly over the last 24 hours,” he said.

The girls and their mom, Lisandra Sanatis, went to Richmond from their home in the Domican Republic two months in advance to prepare. And they’re mini-celebs in their country! Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez, the first lady of the Domican Republic, even came all the way to Richmond to support the family!

Lisandra was weeping with happiness: “It was really my dream and thank God it came true!”

She says the girls are such independent individuals — Teresa is calmer, but Maria is a little tough-girl! “It may be a little strange at first, but it really is what I wanted,” she explained. “I’m so happy to be able to see them be the individuals they were born to be.”